Thankfully for Praveen and his family, the bowler is now undergoing therapy while trying to get his personal life back on track. "Upton wasn’t a consultant but a member of the team. In certain instances, we have seen that the player has even chosen to end his/her life than to seek help," adds Anusheela.Anusheela explains that the mental support for sportsmen is different from regular counselling. Paddy was with the Indian team throughout 2008-11. It’s about a small incremental growth every day," points out Keerthana. Cricketers talking about mental health in the media is needed, but they need someone they can trust to open up with about the battles going in their head," stresses Varadayini. Dhoni rightly pointed out, mental well-being is not something one achieves overnight.Several great players have crumbled under pressure, developing the fear of failure, followed by the fear of losing the position they have achieved — slowly setting the stage for depression in their lives."As a sport psychologist, I have and will always maintain the stance that every team needs a psychologist 24×7 — and not as a consultant who comes and goes. "It can be categorised into two sections — mental toughness training and one-on-one counselling."A necessary conditionWith the complexities of modern life, almost every person requires psychological support at some point in their lives.Finding strength in weaknessKeerthana Swaminathan is another psychologist who works with sportspeople across multiple sports, helping players to bring out the best in them.B. Cricketers such as Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Tait, Andrew Flintoff, Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison and Jonathan Trott have also been victims of depression, for reasons ranging from loss of form or family matters, and have sought a "break" from the game.
This training aims at identifying the mental barriers and then training the players to overcome them. Sportsmen are no exceptions. It’s a constant process for the mental conditioning coach as well as the team to work towards.Mental issues have plagued sportspersons for long, even as several among them have started to talk about their struggles."With this change, the fun element of sports has been largely replaced by a pressure — a pressure to ace your performance at all times," explains Anusheela, adding, "And elite level sportsmen face this pressure at a maximum level. In fact, with the constant pressure of performance and the need to live up to several expectations, it is almost a mandate for them now, so much so that many elite sportsmen have spoken about the importance and benefits of such mental conditioning, too. "The on-field result cannot be ignored — the World Championship 2011," points out Varadayini. "Just like M.According to Kolkata-based sports psychologist Anusheela Brahmachary, who has been dealing with the various sportspeople, as sports transcends from being a mere recreation to a very attractive profession, success in the profession has become more of a stepping stone to achieve all that one aspires for."Even though such supports are available, several elite sportsmen fall prey to depression and fail to reach out for help."For cricketers or any sportspeople to become very self-aware about their emotions and develop the resilience to fight the mental battles, they do need continuous support. Chandrasekhar committing suicide under financial stress comes to mind."When contacted on the subject, Pune-based sports and exercise psychologist Varadayini Gorhe Chitale points out how Shami’s suicidal thoughts and Praveen’s mental health battles not only raised eyebrows but also got back the question of mental health in cricket and sports, in fact, opening up a can of worms. Hence, a consultant can only be 50 per cent effective," explains Varadayini, who then gives the example of the mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton. This is because developing trust is an important part of our profession.S. Most recently, we heard about Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami talk about the toll, injury and issues with his wife took on his health and profession.BCCI yet to take it
China Low-carbon Environmental Protection Air Conditioning manufacturers seriouslyWhile ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni has been an ardent advocate of long-term associations with a psychologist, Smriti Mandhana, from the Indian women’s cricket team has talked of hiring a psychologist for the women’s team."As mental conditioning coaches, we acknowledge that every player has strengths and weaknesses.The case of famous cricketer V. One has got to keep working towards it. That is the noted difference a psychologist or a mental conditioning coach can make if they are continuously engaged with the team. But neither suggestions appear to have been taken seriously by the Board. Many elite sportsmen have spoken about the importance and benefits of such conditioning," she states.". Mental toughness training is ideally a process of training the player to equip the mind to be able to withstand the pressures and continue to perform at their best.Similarly, former cricketer Praveen Kumar underwent a dark phase in his life, through which he battled mental-health issues and loneliness
